West Tennessean Home from Disabled Carinval Cruise Ship

By
Heather Mathis
By
hmathis@wbbjtv.com

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn.- A West Tennessean said she is happy to be back home after spending five days aboard disabled Carnival Cruise ship, Triumph.

Carolyn Cox said she and her friends were on a "girlfriend's cruise" when the ship's engine caught fire early last Sunday.

"We did not have a working toilet in our room until Thursday. We had no water or electricity," said Cox.

Cox told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News the bottom decks were full of sewage, "We propped open our door to the deck and door to the hallway so that the air could flow through an we would have fresh air going through the whole floor. Some of the bottom floors were not pleasant smelling after a couple of days."

The group said they spent the trip inside the cabin, where they had light from the balcony.

Cox said tugboats arrived late Monday to pull the ship back to Mobile, Alabama but they did not reach dry land until late Thursday, "We were all ready to get off that ship on Thursday night."

Even in the rough conditions, Cox praised the cruise staff for all their hard work, and said she is planning on taking another cruise this summer.